On the weekend before TEDGlobal began, 22 volunteer translators converged from around the world to talk all day about translating TEDTalks. Among them, these 22 volunteers have translated more than 3,000 TEDTalks — part of a project to share TED in 88 languages and counting.

To celebrate, designer Dick Lundgren (who’s also a TED translator) made up this cool tray, covered in “untranslatable” words from 21 languages. The full word list (with definitions) is below …

21 Words Worth Spreading

Dutch:
pretoogjes: ‘fun-eyes,’ the eyes of a chuckling person who is up to
some benign mischief
ˈprɛto:xjəs

Polish
bakalie: any dried fruit, nuts, and candied citrus peel used in baking or added to ice cream
baˈkaljɛ

Croatian
milozvučan: having a voice that sounds nice and sweet
milozʋutʃan

Serbian
мерак: pleasure derived from simple joys, such as spending time feasting and merrymaking
mɛ̌raːk

Norwegian
dugnad: a planned (semi-)volunteer work session in/for a community or local interest group
du:gnad

Spanish
sobremesa: the time spent after lunch or dinner, talking to people you shared the meal with
so.bre.mé.sa

A dolphin’s brain-to-body-weight ratio is second only to a human’s. They live complex social lives, can understand abstract concepts and even use tools. But as Denise Herzing asks in Session 8 of TED2013, “Do they have a language? If so, what are they talking about?” For 28 years, Herzing has been researching dolphins in the wild, spending five […]

Thanks to the intrepid volunteers who translate TED Talks into 96 languages — and thanks to the incredible reach of the TEDx community — TED has truly become an international organization. Which means that many of you watching talks are more comfortable reading subtitles in your native language than listening to them in English. We […]

From American Sign Language (written here in English gloss): TRAIN-GO-SORRY. It’s used when someone has just joined a conversation and too much information has been shared for anyone to be able to go back and fill in the new person.

Indeed, TEDTalks are sometimes a real test for translators and I find it great! If I were a Minister of Education and Science I would introduce original TEDTalks in the curriculum of English in Ukrainian shools.

Saudade – Portuguese. It is a feeling for a moment in history that feels as alive today as when it was experienced, but best left in our memories. It is beyond missing, craving, or longing. You can share openly as if it were universal.

Dianne, I’m sure you see the phonetic symbols, like in the Klingon one where it’s written ” qχɑpˈlaʔ “. The link below takes you to an interactive chart where you can find and here each sound. The International Phonetic Alphabet has a fascinating story and I’d love to hear a TED talk on it.

Thank you for this beautiful, inspirational list! I would like to share another word, which I discovered through Ridley Scott’s Life in a Day documentary film. It’s the word “mamihlapinatapai”, from the now almost extinct indigenous Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, which means “that moment or feeling when two people both want to initiate something but neither wants to be the one to start it.” I find it very moving. (See Life in a Day: http://youtu.be/JaFVr_cJJIY, at 0:51:36)